Kaatrin Mozhi is the toned down, Tamil remake of last year’s Tumhari Sulu (Vidya Balan) starring Jyothika as Viji and Vidharth as Baalu. The story revolves around Viji’s impulsive decision to become an RJ and the effect it has on the conservative, lower middle class family.
Even as Nayanthara rules the roost in Tamil cinema, Jyothika stands tall as the comeback queen. From 36 Vayathinile in 2015, to Kaatrin Mozhi, she’s seen success all the way. In a season of Masala films, will this quiet, non-controversial, feel-good flick bring viewers to screens? And how does it compare with the original?
Like Tumhari Sulu, but Only in Name
The plotline is the same. The actor’s characteristics are the same. The feeling that the scenes wish to evoke is the same. And yet, Kaatrin Mozhi is unique and different from Tumhari Sulu.
I didn’t think of Vidya Balan when Jyothika said her first sensual ‘halloooo...’, or of Neha Dhupia when Laxmi Manchu asked her writer/friend to go f@#k himself. It was only when the lights came on at the interval that the comparisons came flooding in. And even then, they were forced.
Vidharth, who plays the husband is convincing. All that he faces at work is something any office goer can relate to. His inarticulate responses to insults at work endear him to the viewer. But there is no chemistry between Viji and Baalu. That Jyothika is Surya’s wife seems to hang heavy in the back of his mind. He’s unsure physically around her and it shows. Why such hesitation in a Radha Mohan film (certified U) is beyond me?
The Comic Ensemble Kicks In
Radha Mohan’s films work because of parallel comedic arcs that are carried forth beautifully by character actors like M S Basker, Manobala and Elango Kumaravel - all of them regulars in his films.
No Action, Only Reaction
As the movie nears the climax, it becomes obvious that the characters aren’t really acting as much as responding to the situations in the plot. Sometimes it works beautifully, like when Viji’s husband insults her, or when her son (played by Narayan Lucky) breaks down before her, after being found by the police.
Kaatrin Mozhi will make you cry on cue, not because the film exploits human emotion like a Masala flick, but because the husband, wife, man, woman, father or mother in you, will relate to Viji and Baalu.
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